


A Taker

by orphan_account



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 02:56:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8872972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Newt knew one thing: he was going to be expelled for this.





	

Newt entered the forbidden forest with his wand aloft. “Lumos,” he muttered.

 

The path was immediately bathed in cold blue light, and Newt followed it until he reached a fork. Holding his wand higher, he noted that the plants fringing the path to the left had a recently flattened look about them. He raced left, his heart beating loudly in his ears.

 

Despite its reputation for dangerous and dark creatures, this was the first time that Newt Scamander had felt afraid in the forbidden forest.

 

After what felt like nearly an hour, Newt heard the sound of soft whimpering and followed it to a clearing. What he saw made him desperately wish he were back in the castle.

 

A small first year girl was crumpled in a heap on the ground. She was covered in various wounds, some of which looked dangerously deep. A thick pool of blood had collected under her. Newt’s heart contracted painfully. _Was she dead?_

 

Newt ran to the girl and was kneeling at her side when Leta Lestrange cried out to him. “Don’t touch her!” she screeched.

 

Newt almost didn’t recognize the voice of his old friend. She looked positively manic. Her curly black hair was full of twigs and other debris from the forest. Her face was smudged with dirt and her robes were ripped in several places.

 

Newt was distracted from the girl for a moment. He moved toward Leta, putting his hands on her shoulders. “What happened? I was worried when you disappeared after dinner! I—please tell me you didn’t.”

 

Leta was shaking. “Newt, I’m sorry. I just—I wanted a closer look. I didn’t know the girl was following me.”

 

Newt stared at Leta. Terrible comprehension was dawning on him. _She released it._

 

Six weeks ago, to his utter astonishment, Newt had discovered a Chimaera living in the forbidden forest. He hadn’t the faintest idea of how it had gotten there. Chimaera eggs were Class A Non-Tradeable Materials, and they were extremely rare. It seemed, however, that someone at Hogwarts had secured a Chimaera and let it loose in the forest. How long ago, Newt didn’t know. Perhaps it had been there for years.

 

It was the Ministry’s policy to execute Chimaeras when they were found since they were classified as highly dangerous creatures. Newt suspected they were merely misunderstood. Torn between protecting the Chimaera and ensuring that no one would stumble across it unawares, Newt came up with a clever compromise.

 

After several nights of poring over hefty charms textbooks, he’d mastered a clever enclosure charm. He’d tracked the beast through the forest and learned that the Chimaera seemed to spend most of its time in roughly 1,500 square feet of forest. After a massive effort, Newt had succeeded in casting the charm and securing the creature. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would do while he worked out a plan.

 

Newt shared all of this with his best friend Leta. Instead of being horrified, she was thrilled with his discovery and begged to see the Chimaera. Newt refused, saying that it was too dangerous and that he didn’t want to draw attention to his secret.

 

Leta, as she so often did, ignored Newt. Tonight after dinner, she’d stolen out onto the grounds and into the forbidden forest to get a closer look at the beast. Unbeknownst to her, a curious Ravenclaw first year had followed.

 

Newt turned away from his friend, kneeling down again beside the first year.

 

“I said, don’t touch her!” shrieked Leta.

 

“ _Why?_ ”

 

“I don’t—I don’t want to know if—“

 

“Leta, for God’s sake…”

 

But Leta covered her face in her hands and fled from the clearing.

 

“ _Leta! Come back!”_

She wasn’t coming back. Newt braced himself, and felt the little girl’s wrist. Hot panic flooded him. He felt nothing. _No wait. Just there._ And there it was. A weak but unmistakable pulse.

 

Newt immediately picked the girl up in his arms, trying to be gentle as possible with her. He was vaguely alarmed by how small she was. He held her tight to his chest, and took off running towards the castle.


End file.
